Keeping the Homeland Secure by Making You Swim to That Caribbean Vacation
Electronic Passports Raise Privacy Issues
By Ellen Nakashima Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, January 1, 2008; A06
The federal government will soon offer passport cards equipped with electronic data chips to U.S. citizens who travel frequently between the United States and Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. The cards can be read wirelessly from 20 feet, offering convenience to travelers but raising security and privacy concerns about the possibility of data being intercepted.
. . . The $45 card will be optional and cannot be used for air travel . . . "The government is fundamentally weakening border security and privacy for passport holders in order to get people through the lines faster," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology . . .
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So let's see, this newest thingamabob is supposed to enhance travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but you can't fly to Toron…